Cast members from the 1990s prime time soap Melrose Place – Josie Bissett, Thomas Calabro, Marcia Cross, Laura Leighton, Heather Locklear, Doug Savant, Grant Show, Andrew Shue, Courtney Thorne-Smith and Daphne Zuniga – have reunited for the Stars in the House benefit series for The Actors Fund.
Hosted by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley, the Stars in the House YouTube series has been posting special reunion episodes for weeks, welcoming casts from Frasier, Glee, Desperate Housewives, SCTV and Taxi, as well as original Broadway casts from Spring Awakening and Les Misérables, among others.
The Tuesday, April 28 episode featured the Melrose cast reminiscing about their years in West Hollywood’s most iconic apartment complex. The reunion supported The Actors Fund, and viewers were able to donate while they watched. Viewers could also ask questions and interact with with the cast in real time during the show.
One of the more revealing exchanges saw Doug Savant reminiscing about the cast’s early days shooting in Santa Clarita, including post-shoot jaunts to Marie Calendar’s where they had “bad beer and pie…laughing about our day.”
“Then,” said Thorne-Smith, “Heather came on, and suddenly we had a villain, and it just took off.”
“Seth and I believe that in this time of social distancing and isolation, much happiness can be found by seeing familiar faces from shows beloved by the whole world,” said Wesley. “We call these shows comfort TV. And we plan on having even more every week, along with our beloved theatre pals – all for The Actors Fund.”
The livestream Stars in the House series raises money for The Actors Fund’s COVID-19 efforts. The series’ episodes are available at the Stars in the House website and on YouTube.